Region 10 2022 Health Assessment Process
Public Health Improvement Plan
The West Central Public Health Partnership (Region 10)
The West Central Public Health Partnership (WCPHP) was formed in 2006 with the purpose of building the infrastructure of the public health system and making local public health agencies more effective and efficient. The WCPHP includes Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel Counties. Public Health assessment and planning was one of the first projects the WCPHP tackled as a region and the process continues to guide the work of the partnership. Prior to 2022, the WCPHP did regional public health assessments in 2011 and 2016 with subsequent public health plans created in 2013 and 2018. In 2022, the WCPHP completed a new public health assessment. As of summer 2023, the WCPHP is currently in the process of developing the new public health improvement plan based on the data from the 2022 assessment.
Colorado’s Public Health Act took effect in 2008, restructuring our local public health systems statewide. The act established a set of comprehensive requirements for the community assessment and planning processes. The intention of the act is to ensure both the availability and the quality of core public health services to every resident of Colorado, ultimately to improve health outcomes. To be updated every five years, local public health agencies are responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating community needs to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health system and create a Community Health Assessment (CHA) and a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
In accordance with the Colorado Health Assessment and Planning System, the assessment steps include evaluation of the prior health assessment and planning process, data analysis, and review and sorting of secondary data by the WCPHP Health Planner and Coordinator. Public health officials also collect primary data from a community health survey and review that data with stakeholders and the WCPHP. Assessment and prioritization continue through conducting local stakeholder interviews to collect data on the top five health concerns in each of the 6 counties. The WCPHP, as the core planning team for the Public Health Improvement Planning process, then reviews the data and completes the prioritization process to choose the top regional health priorities. These priorities become the basis of the new public health improvement plan.
Process
In 2022, the WCPHP began its most recent regional health assessment and planning process. The health assessment process included:
Analysis of local and regional level health data
Community surveys
Hospital input
Stakeholder interviews in all six counties
Using a prioritization matrix that combined the data and input from these meetings, the WCPHP identified two priority areas:
Capacity Building
Mental and Behavioral Health
Overview of Regional Assessment and Planning Process
Health Equity and Health Access
http://hogg.utexas.edu/3-things-to-know-health-equity
In addition, the WCPHP recognizes that health inequity exists within our region. Region 10 stakeholders identified priority populations including: early childhood and youth, elderly, immigrants, low income residents, LGBTQ, and geographically isolated residents.
The WCPHP uses the social determinants of health, a health equity framework, to address and attempt to understand health inequities in our populations as a means to increase health outcomes and access to care.
In order to improve health outcomes for our community, the WCPHP also recognizes that our priority areas must be addressed through the context of both health equity and health access.